Instead, what if the turmoil around the yuan is the unintended outcome of a too-bold reform of China’s exchange rate mechanism? By allowing market makers – 35 large banks – to submit prices for the reference rate based on the previous day’s closing spot rate, the country’s central bank has shifted the fixing of the exchange rate toward the market and away from policy makers.
The value of the yuan should now more closely reflect demand and supply, rather than just being fixed by the monetary authorities at the level they deem compatible with the Chinese government’s policy objectives. There should be praise rather than blame.